£1.75m fund will help create jobs at tech firm behind bank platform

(L to R) Jen Anderson, Andrew Rabbitt and Steve Lockwood from Incuto, Tom Kitchen from Mercia and Paul Smith from Incuto.

The funding will allow Ilkley-based Incuto to roll out its platform to more UK credit unions and prepare for overseas expansion.

It comes as the pandemic has increased demand for Incuto’s technology by forcing many credit unions and community banks to rapidly digitise their services.

Incuto stems from an idea by its chief executive Andrew Rabbitt, a business consultant who had identified the need for a digital platform while working with credit unions. He joined forces with banker John Neasham and businessman Les Walker to launch the company in 2016.

The platform is now used by over 40 credit unions and has over 500,000 registered users. Incuto has established partnerships with Experian, Telefonica, Google and TransUnion. It recently announced new partnerships with ClearBank to offer credit unions access to faster payments, direct debit processing and virtual accounts, and with the Post Office to allow members to withdraw cash from Post Office branches. Incuto is HM Treasury’s sole technology partner for the two-year pilot of its prize-linked savings scheme for credit unions.

The latest investment brings the total raised by the company to date to over £2.5m and has supported the creation of ten new jobs, bringing its team to over 30.

Mr Rabbitt said: “We’ve been extremely busy supporting our credit union partners during Covid-19. The lockdown not only escalated the need for credit unions to offer their members digital access, but also to communicate with them more regularly and effectively, something our technology also enables them to do.

“Credit unions have been at the forefront of supporting financially excluded and often vulnerable individuals and families over recent months, so we are delighted to offer them technology which not only better supports existing members in a digital world, but also enables them to promote their message of ethical, supportive banking to a wider audience.”

Incuto has secured investment from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF); the government’s Future Fund; Ascension Ventures’ Fair By Design Fund; and the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Northstar Ventures.

Tom Kitchen of Mercia added: “The company has already established a strong presence in the UK and has potential for wider use in the UK and beyond. This funding will help it to meet growing demand at home and prepare for international expansion.”

Jonathan Pollard of Ward Hadaway advised Mercia on the investment.